The Painful Truth
by RedMoon-Sanctuary
Summary: Ms. Kaoru? Ms. Kaoru, are you in there?" Kenshin opened the screen door of Kaoru's room. No one was there. (one-shot) I really don't like this story very much, but maybe you will. Read and Review


**_Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin_**

I'm sorry if you don't like this story. I don't like it very much either. But I thought of it and started writing. Go figure. Anyway, enjoy it. Review if you want.**

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The painful Truth

"Ms. Kaoru? Ms. Kaoru, are you in there?" Kenshin opened the screen door of Kaoru's room. No one was there. Then he went to check the training hall. "Yahiko," Kenshin asked, "Have you seen Ms. Kaoru anywhere?"

"No" said the young boy, "She's suppose to be training me right now. I haven't seen her all day."

"Oh, well, thank you Yahiko." Kenshin was starting to get a little worried. Ms. Kaoru must have left the dojo. But why didn't she tell Kenshin? And even if she didn't tell him, she would have at least left a note. But there was nothing. Kenshin had been so worried for the whole morning; he couldn't even focus on doing the laundry. After a few tries of washing some clothes, Kenshin just gave up on the laundry and sat on the porch waiting for Kaoru. Then, the dojo doors began to open and Kenshin ran up to let who he thought it was in. "Oh, Ms. Kao-"

"Hey Kenshin! What's for breakfast?" asked the ex-gangster.

"Oh, Hi Sano." Kenshin sighed again and went back to sit on the porch.

"What's buggin' ya Kenshin?" asked Sanosuke. He knew better than anyone that if Kenshin was upset, something had happened. He scanned the place once and then asked, "What happened to Kaoru? Isn't she around?"

"How'd you know?"

"It's a little quieter when the Missy's not around. So, where is she?"

"I-I don't know." Kenshin spattered. He was getting very fidgety. He had promised that he would protect Kaoru no matter what. Now, he didn't even know where she was. All he could do was waiting for her. He knew that Kaoru probably went out for awhile and was bound to return soon. So Kenshin waited on the front porch for her. Sano went in and watched Yahiko do the chores Kenshin didn't finish. He went over to Kenshin once or twice to check on his friend. But every time he went back, Kenshin was in the same spot. It was already three in he afternoon and Kaoru still hadn't come back. Kenshin couldn't stand it anymore. He got up and went for the door. But just then a young voice called out,

"Hi! I'm back!" Kenshin in surprise tripped and fell on his face from the sudden burst of noise.

"Oroooooo!"

"Kenshin?" said the young woman's voice, "What happened to you?" He looked up to find deep sapphire eyes staring into his. He sighed in relief.

"Oh, it's you Ms. Kaoru. It's nice to see you." She smiled and helped him up. Sanosuke and Yahiko came to the door when he heard Kenshin scream. Sano smiled to see Kaoru.

"Oh, hey Missy, where have you been all morning?" Kaoru looked at everyone was about to say something, but, dashed to her room instead. "What's her problem?" With Kaoru back, the rest of the day went off rather smoothly. That evening at dinner, Kaoru was rather quiet. Kenshin tried to get her to talk about what was bothering her, but every time, she would just reply, 'I'm fine Kenshin, but thank you for worrying'. He knew something was going on, and he wanted to find. Out. So that night, Kenshin didn't go to sleep and went to spy on Kaoru. Now Kenshin knew that if he got caught, he'd be in deep shit. But he was going to risk it. He heard Kaoru getting changed and walks out her door. She quietly walked out the dojo and down the street. Kenshin silently followed her. Kaoru turned around a few times, just to make sure no one was there, but she didn't notice that Kenshin was following her every move. After she turned a corner, she met up with another young man. He was about the same age as Kaoru but was a few inches taller than her. He wore casual clothing, but from the scars on his hand, you could tell he was a swordsman. Kaoru giggled and gave him a hug. Kenshin was horrified at what he had witnessed, but he kept following them. It was like murder watching a man Kenshin had never seen before sweetly talking and flirting with Kaoru. He wanted to know all about this man.

"Oh, Kensuke," Kaoru sighed, "It's been ages since I last saw you. I think the last time we talked was before my father died. It was such a surprise meeting you, especially this morning. I can't believe I ran into you when going to Dr. Gensei's house for some medicine." The man smiled.

"But my Kaoru, have you grown so beautiful. Much more beautiful than when we were younger." He put his arm around her delicate shoulders and rested his head on top of hers. Kenshin was about ready to strike him down with the Hiten Mitsurugi style, but tried to hold back from attacking one of Kaoru's friends.

"Hey Kensuke," Kaoru said, "Remember when we were kids, you use to always tease me?"

"Yes. I did because I secretly had a crush on you." Kaoru blushed a little at Kensuke's words.

"Yeah, I know." Kaoru sighed. "I knew you liked me. You were really bad at hiding it." They both giggled and sighed. Kenshin was getting sick of all this sweet talk and wanted to come out, grab Kaoru, and strike this guy for trying to steal Kaoru away. The two of them stop walking near a river. Kaoru looked around and noticed the place was strangely familiar. Then she remembered it was the spot where Kenshin said goodbye to her before he left for Kyoto. Kaoru then began to think of Kenshin and all the things that he had done for her. She felt guilty; she knew it would break Kenshin's heart if he saw her with another man. She didn't know how much it hurt Kenshin. It was more painful than getting stabbed by a sword. Kenshin knew that Kaoru had found happiness, it was just, and it was not with him. So he whispered a few soft words to her, and walked away.

"I'm glad you're happy Ms. Kaoru that I am." The wind seemed to carry his words to Kaoru's ears. She turned around to check if Kenshin was there. But he wasn't.

"Kaoru? You okay?" She turned to her friend and smiled. "I just wanted to tell you something."

"What is it?" Kaoru was afraid that he might ask her to marry him, so she held her breathe and waited to hear what he would say.

"I was going to invite you to my wedding." Kaoru looked at him in surprise.

"A wedding!?" She said loudly. Kenshin was still nearby at the time. When he heard the word "wedding", his heart skipped a beat. He held his head low and almost began to cry. He knew that he had truly lost her. Then he continued walking. "Who are you marrying?" Kaoru asked happily?

"A young woman I met a year ago. Her name is Hitomi." Kaoru smiled.

"Well, congratulations for you and her." Kensuke smiled and gave her a paper with a date, address, time and everything. She was allowed to bring someone with her. She hugged him kindly and congratulated him again, then walked back to the dojo. When she got back, she went straight to bed with exciting thoughts going through her head. She imagined how getting married would be like and _who_ she might marry.

The Next Day

Kenshin sadly got out of bed and walked to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, but someone was already there. "Good Morning Ms. Kaoru." Kenshin tried to say in a happy tone. Kaoru turned around and smiled brightly.

"Oh, good morning Kenshin." Kaoru was much happier this morning and Kenshin thought he knew why. He wanted to ask her about it, but he knew if he brought it up with her, she would kill him. So he just sat there quietly. Kaoru turned and looked at him. He was rather quiet. She began to worry about him. "Kenshin," she said quietly, "are you okay?" He looked at her and gave her a kind smile and nodded. She could tell something was bothering him, but she didn't want to ask him if he didn't want to talk about it. After preparing breakfast, Kaoru started doing all the household chores that Kenshin would usually would do. She seemed to act much more motherly and helpful. Kenshin sighed. He felt like he wasn't needed anymore, and went back to his room.

"Hey! Breakfast smells really good!" Yahiko yelled as he sat and ate his breakfast. "Wow! It's really good today! Kenshin, what'd you make?" There was no answer. "Kenshin?"

"Kenshin didn't make breakfast." Kaoru said cheerfully, "I did." Yahiko looked up to her and dropped his chopsticks.

"Wait, you made _food_ that tasted _good_?" Kaoru nodded and grabbed another pair of chopsticks for Yahiko. "What happened last night, did I miss something?" Just then, someone walked into the dojo.

"So, what's for breakfast today?" Yahiko heard Sano and ran to tell him the news of Kaoru's improved cooking. Sano didn't believe it until he had some food. It was fluffy, soft and flavorful. It was food that would normally be made by Kenshin. After Kaoru went to serve Sano food, she went back outside to complete her chores. Sano watched Kaoru do the chores and asked Yahiko. "Where's Kenshin? And why is the Missy so happy?"

"Beat's me." Yahiko said after swallowing another mouthful. "But I hope that Kaoru's cooking stays this way." Sano nodded and kept eating. The day seemed to go very strangely. Kaoru went thought the whole day without yelling or hitting anyone. It scared everyone in the dojo, even Megumi when she came over for lunch. The only person no one saw all day was Kenshin. He seemed to vanish. That evening, Kaoru went out to Tokyo Station to see her friend off and to wish him a safe trip. When she got home, someone was waiting for her at the door.

"So, How's Kensuke and your wedding?" said the voice.

"Oh, He's fin-" Kaoru stopped. She turned around to see Kenshin standing behind her. "Kenshin! How'd you know about the wedding?"

"I did some digging, that I did." Kenshin said.

"You where spying on me, weren't you!" Kaoru yelled angrily. "Kenshin, you jerk." As she was about to hit him like always, Kenshin grabbed her arm rather roughly and stared straight into her eyes. But when Kaoru looked into Kenshin's eyes, they weren't the same soft eyes that she always seemed. They were colder and filled with pain. Kenshin began to grip Kaoru a little more firmly. Kaoru was getting very scared and didn't like what was going on. "K-Kenshin, Ow, let go. Kenshin... That hurts, STOP!" Kenshin instantly let go of her and looked a little surprised himself. When he looked at Kaoru, he could see the fear in her eyes. "Kensh-shin..." He tried to talk to her, but she was too frightened to listen. When Kenshin approached her, she began to move back, away from him.

"Ms. Kaoru...." Kenshin said softly. "I'm...." He tried to approach her again, but this time Kaoru ran to her room and shut the door, leaving a very heartbroken samurai alone. Kenshin bowed his head and fell to his knees. He realized the mistake he made and now he was going to pay for it. Kenshin decided he knew what he was going to do. So he got up and walked over to Kaoru's room. Before he went to knock on her door, he could still hear her crying inside. He knew that she didn't want to talk to him, so he talked from outside her door. "Ms. Kaoru, I'm very sorry. Words cannot describe how bad I feel right now. I shouldn't have spied on you and your friend. Please forgive me. And the one thing that I am truly very sorry for hurting you earlier. Something like that is unforgivable. Please...." He heard no response. He sighed softly. "I don't belong in such a kind place. I'll be leaving now." Kaoru ran to her door when Kenshin said this.

"Kenshin!" He turned around. "No, I'm sorry. It's my fault that I didn't tell you. Really, it's my fault." She fell to her knees and started crying again. "It's just, when you yelled at me, I really thought you hated me and-" Kenshin put his arms around Kaoru and hugged her.

"I could never hate you Kaoru. But when I heard you discussing a wedding, I-" Kaoru looked up at him and giggled.

"Kenshin, I wasn't talking about a wedding for me, it was for Kensuke, he's the one getting married, not me." She smiled softly when she heard Kenshin go 'oro'. She looked at him and said, "So you promise you won't leave me?"

"Yes, I promise." He sighed and hugged her tighter. Kaoru and Kenshin then went to the river where Kaoru was at the night before and sat in each others arms, never letting go.

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Ok, so this isn't one of my best Kenshin fics, but whatever. Review if you wish! . 


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